Cincinnati Bengals Still Drawing Heat Over Shemar Stewart Situation

For most young men, being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft would be a dream. For former Texas A&M defensive end Shemar Stewart, it has been nothing short of a nightmare.

Since being selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, Stewart and the squad have been entrenched in a contract dispute. On the latest episode of The Mina Kimes Show, The Athletic’s Robert Mays weighed in on the state of the dispute.

“No matter who it was, doing this with a guy that you drafted in the first round is dumb on its own,” Mays said. “The guy, who is the rawest player that you could have drafted in the first round, not getting every single rep in practice in a season where, again, you justifiably want to win your division and want to win playoff games, is very frustrating.”

How Did We Get in This Mess?

The Bengals are trying to reestablish the way they word rookie contracts, allowing the team to be able to void future guarantees. Stewart wants the language to mirror that of the Bengals' last two first-round draft selections. Until his needs are met, he is refusing to practice, but neither side seems to be budging.

"I'm 100 percent right. I'm not asking for nothing y'all have never done before," Stewart said at the start of mandatory minicamp back in June. "But in [the Bengals’] case, [they] just want to win arguments (more) than winning more games. ... I can’t say what I really want to say, but it’s their contract. They can do what they want with it."

On top of the Stewart situation, the Bengals are in a contract dispute with star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who is likely seeking close to what the Pittsburgh Steelers will dish out to future Hall of Famer TJ Watt. Over the years, the Bengals have seemed to establish a tradition of rubbing their players the wrong way. Last season, wide receiver Tee Higgins requested a trade, the Hendrickson and Stewart situations, and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase held out over his contract in 2024.

When the news of Stewart’s holdout first dropped, many were quick to chastise the player. After a look at Cincinnati’s cheap history and player treatment, maybe he is not the one to blame in the situation.

“When you have a team and an offense that is capable of winning a Super Bowl, you would thing a player in Trey Hendrickson’s situation would have some leverage,” Mays said. “I don’t think you can ascribe normal logic and motivation and thinking to the way that the Cincinnati Bengals operate.”

If Stewart and the Bengals do not reach an agreement, Stewart will be able to enter the 2026 NFL Draft and any of the other teams could draft him, according to former agent Joel Corey.